Robotaxis: The Unexpected Safety Benefit for Women

The two most important motivating factors for people behind the development of autonomous vehicles are, on the one hand, convenience – I no longer have to waste my time driving the vehicle – and, on the other, the safety aspect.

The latter refers to the number of road accidents, which is still far too high. Worldwide, around one million people die in road traffic accidents every year and between ten and fourteen million are injured. The economic damage is enormous, and the social damage is not to be sneezed at either. When a father, mother or child dies, a life has been destroyed that can no longer be lived.

But there is another aspect that is often overlooked, especially by the male half of the population. When a man gets on public transport, he doesn’t think much. A woman, on the other hand, especially when it’s dark outside, goes through a mental checklist. Because dangers can lurk anywhere. Is the stop I’m waiting at well-lit and easy to see? Are there a lot of people there or am I alone? How many passengers are on the bus? Are there only men? Are there seats at the front with the driver? Is the bus well lit? Are there cameras inside? Are there any drunks or possibly violent men in the vehicle?

Women have similar thoughts when they get into a cab or Uber. Is the driver a man or a woman? Have I taken a photo of the license plate number to send to friends at the start of the journey? Does the male cab driver really want to talk to me? Does he bring up private or salacious topics? Shit, he now knows where I live!

Deeksha Anand, Marketing Manager at Google, explained exactly this line of thought in a LinkedIn post when she reported on her first experience with a robotaxi in San Francisco. I found this approach and way of thinking about robotaxis so interesting that I don’t want to withhold it from you here:

11:20 PM, standing alone on a San Francisco street corner, waiting for my ride. As a woman in an unfamiliar city, I had that familiar knot in my stomach—you know the one.

Then my Waymo pulled up.

No driver to worry about.
No awkward small talk.
No wondering if this person is safe.
Just me, the car, and complete control over my journey.

What started as curiosity about autonomous vehicles turned into a powerful Go-to-Market lesson about solving problems customers didn’t even know they needed solved.

What Waymo Mastered (Beyond Just Self-Driving)


1)They identified the unspoken market: Late-night rides for women isn’t just about transportation—it’s profoundly about safety and peace of mind.
Waymo accidentally created the safest ride option without even marketing it that way.


2)They removed human variables entirely: No driver ratings to check, no license plates to screenshot and send to friends, no personality conflicts.
The biggest risk factor in ride-sharing? Eliminated.
This builds trust on an entirely new level.

3)They made the experience feel personal, not robotic:
You can connect your Spotify, control the temperature, choose your route.
It’s your space for those 15 minutes, not someone else’s car you’re borrowing. This ownership fosters comfort.

4)They built in thoughtful details:
That “don’t forget your belongings” reminder hit different at midnight when you’re tired.
Small touches that show they understand real user behavior and empathy.

They turned a tech demo into emotional safety: This isn’t just about autonomous driving—it’s about creating spaces where people feel genuinely secure.
That’s a massive, underserved market that technology can uniquely address.

The Core Insight:
Sometimes your strongest value proposition isn’t the feature you built—it’s the problem you accidentally solved. Waymo built self-driving cars, but they delivered something far more valuable: peace of mind.

This experience reinforced my belief that true innovation often lies in understanding the subtle, unarticulated needs of your audience.

We often overlook exactly the same thinking when we talk about public transport. Public transport is not safe, clean and reliable at all times of the day and night, or on all days and in all areas. The debate on public transport and other forms of mobility is often very one-sided and focuses only on the environmentally friendly side. Cars fie, public transport hui!

Here is another female rider mentioning her feelings and protocol taking rides:

I’ve taken Waymo plenty of times… but last night hit differently.

I was heading home late and chose a Waymo instead of an Uber. I didn’t expect to feel so profoundly different, in the best possible way.

We talk endlessly about AI’s impact on jobs, productivity, society… but there’s one piece I don’t see discussed enough, or sometimes gets framed the opposite way: Safety.

As a young woman, getting home alone at night has always been a calculated risk. I’ve had bad experiences. I’ve developed habits: pretending to talk on the phone, holding pepper spray, sharing my location, staying “alert” even when exhausted. Last night, for the first time maybe ever, I didn’t do any of that.

I sat however I wanted. Looked out the window. Didn’t clutch my phone like a prop. I actually let myself unwind on the ride home.

And it hit me, this is a version of freedom we don’t talk about enough. AI giving us space to feel safe. To relax. To exist without a layer of fear. I loved it. Has anyone else experienced this shift?

In fact, there are a large number of people for whom this aspect is not a priority. Not because they are climate change deniers or don’t care about the environment. They are women who simply feel unsafe at certain times (at night, with few people on the street, shady people nearby…). But they are also people who are physically unable to walk the distance between the bus stop and their home without difficulty.

These factors need to be considered in such a debate, and Deeksha’s post here gives an insight into which aspects often fall by the wayside. And how new technologies offer unexpected solutions.

This article was also published in German.